Bridge Point
Bridge Point (see below for a note regarding the name) was once a Resistance outpost on the Coast near a large railroad bridge. Its occupants were eliminated by the Combine and Xen wildlife some time before Gordon Freeman's arrival. Overview The base consists of three houses, two small sheds, and a windmill. The largest of the buildings is three stories tall and is occupied by a Poison Zombie. All the larger buildings contain beds and other necessary items for living. In the way of New Little Odessa and other Resistance bases, the windmill was possibly used to generate electricity or pump up ground water; however, there does not appear to be any infrastructure for either function. Bridge Point is located right beside an old 2-track train bridge spanning a river which, at Gordon Freeman's time of arrival, is used by the Combine to connect Nova Prospekt and City 17. One track is blocked by a partially derailed train and the Combine has secured the bridge and the tunnels leading to it with Force Fields to prevent unauthorized traffic from crossing. The narrow catwalks and walkways under the bridge have fallen into serious disrepair, presumably from general disuse. The power supply for the Force Fields located on the far side being only seen to be accessible using these walkways, the Combine troops stationed there were probably brought by Dropships. On the cliff face which Bridge Point rests upon is a small path which leads to the lower levels of the bridge. It is evident that this pathway, and the catwalks under the bridge, are rarely used, as various Xen wildlife have taken up residence there. It is evident that Resistance soldiers made use of the base at some point before Gordon Freeman's arrival. However, probably because of its location near an important supply railroad, the Combine Overwatch has eliminated the residents. Now the Combine seem to have no particular use for the base and simply left it abandoned. The other Resistance occupied bases and outposts (such as New Little Odessa and Shorepoint) apparently did not risk attempting to retake the base. Appearances ''Half-Life 2'' During the events of Half-Life 2, Gordon Freeman visits the base in his journey along the Coast to Nova Prospekt. The Combine decided to reinforce the base when Freeman was detected heading that way and two squads are air-dropped in by Combine Dropship right before Freeman reaches the spot. As he must cross the bridge with his Scout Car to proceed, he has to deactivate both Force Fields barring its way. Crossing the bridge on foot by using the catwalks located under it, he succeeds in deactivating the Force Fields protecting the bridge, destroying the Combine Overwatch garrisons located there as well as a Gunship sent as reinforcements by the same occasion. After going back to the main site, he is now able to cross the bridge, but has to play a game of chicken with a Razor Train coming from the opposite direction. The Combine probably did not retake the base after this, as their military presence in the area was significantly weakened after the destruction of Nova Prospekt. Behind the scenes *The name "Bridge Point" used on the wiki is not given in any official source; it was merely chosen for more convenience. *Early versions of the bridge can be found in the maps "wasteland_bridge05.vmf," "wasteland_railbridge.vmf," and "seafloor_bridge.vmf", apparently set at the start of the journey through the Wasteland.WC mappack *In the playable ''Half-Life 2'' Beta, the two maps bear several differences: the bridge is not a railway bridge, but a road bridge; Smart Barriers are used instead of Force Fields; the Combine Dropship is shown holding a placeholder of its final container model; the bridge command building stands above the bridge and not next to it.Playable ''Half-Life 2'' Beta Trivia *The Razor Train can be avoided either by reversing as soon as the horn sounds and pulling off onto the other track, or walking down the tracks on foot to trigger the train and then standing aside while it passes. In the past, beating the train by using the Scout Car's turbo function was also a reasonable approach, but a patch that coincided with Half-Life 2's release on Mac reduced the speed of the car, rendering this much more difficult. *The Bridge Point bridge was originally to be a road bridge. Evidence of this can be seen in two places: an old version of the map from the WC mappack (seen below), and again in the final release, where the map of the coast has a line (road) leading up to, and across, the bridge. This also explains why the highway seemingly ends for no reason (it was originally to continue on). *If the player uses the console command "map d2_coast_08", the player will spawn incorrectly inside the floor below the control room without any weapons or his suit. Gallery Pre-release File:Wasteland bridge.jpg|Concept art for an early Bridge Point, based on the map "wasteland_railbridge". File:Bridge Point early.jpg|An early official screenshot of Gordon firing at the Overwatch Soldiers. File:Beta d2 coast 070000.jpg|Dropship with container placeholder in the playable Beta. File:Beta d2 coast 070001.jpg|General view, in the playable Beta (with the windmill propeller model not showing). File:Beta d2 coast 070004.jpg|The buildings in the Beta. File:Beta d2 coast 070005.jpg|The kitchen in the playable Beta. File:Beta d2 coast 070002.jpg|Smart Barrier and Watchtower on the bridge in the playable Beta. File:Beta d2 coast 080006.jpg|Under the bridge in the playable Beta. File:Beta d2 coast 080007.jpg|Ditto. File:Beta d2 coast 080008.jpg|Ditto. File:Beta d2 coast 080009.jpg|Overwatch Soldier on a Watchtower at the other side of the bridge, in the playable Beta. File:Beta d2 coast 080013.jpg|Under the bridge in the playable Beta. File:Beta d2 coast 080010.jpg|General view of the bridge from the other side in the playable Beta. File:Beta d2 coast 080011.jpg|Overwatch Soldier and his OICW in the control room, in the playable Beta. File:Beta d2 coast 080012.jpg|Ditto. File:Beta d2 coast 080014.jpg|The control room from the outside in the playable Beta. Retail File:Coastmap sheet.png|Map of the Coast, with the bridge, unnamed, on the center left. File:D2 coast 070012.JPG|View of the site and the bridge. File:D2 coast 070001.JPG|Dropship leaving after offloading the troops. File:D2 coast 070019.JPG|View of Bridge Point, facing the railway. File:D2 coast 070020.JPG|Combine Watchtowers at each side of the bridge, with an active Force Field in-between. File:D2 coast 070031.JPG|Overwatch Soldier running towards Freeman with his shotgun. File:D2 coast 070033.JPG|Overwatch Soldiers running towards Freeman with their MP7s. File:D2 coast 070069.JPG|Overwatch Soldier firing at Freeman with his OSIPR. File:D2 coast 070023.JPG|Inside one of the buildings. File:D2 coast 070024.JPG|Kitchen in one of the buildings. File:D2 coast 070030.JPG|Overwatch Soldier hiding from Freeman with his OSIPR. File:D2 coast 070025.JPG|Combine Watchtower attached to the bridge. File:D2 coast 070027.JPG|Combine Watchtower seen through the missing roof of one the buildings. File:D2 coast 070026.JPG|Poison Zombie and Standard Headcrab on the cliff path. File:Bridge Point watchtower1.jpg|Combine Watchtower attached to the bridge, seen from the first map. File:Bridge Point watchtower.jpg|Ditto, seen from the second map, where the top of the bridge is not featured. File:D2 coast 070022.JPG|View of the bridge in the fog. File:Rail bridge supports.jpg|Under the bridge. File:D2 coast 080060.JPG|Cabin under the bridge, with a dead Citizen and ammo, notably rockets to be used against the Gunship. File:D2 coast 080061.JPG|Cabin under the bridge. File:D2 coast 080037.JPG|The end of the bridge in the fog. File:D2 coast 080039.JPG|Overwatch Soldier aiming at Freeman with his OSIPR. File:D2 coast tank.jpg|Tank under the bridge. File:D2 coast 080040.jpg|The command building at the end of the bridge. File:D2 coast 080041.JPG|Inside the command building. File:D2 coast 080049.JPG|Gunship firing at Freeman after the Force Fields are deactivated. File:Razor destroy buggy.jpg|The Razor Train about to destroy the Scout Car and kill Freeman. File:D2 coast 070090.JPG|Freeman narrowly escaping the Razor Train. File:D2 coast 070015.JPG|The Razor Train continuing its journey after being avoided by Freeman. File:D2 coast 070099.JPG|Ditto. File:D2 coast 070021.JPG|Collapsed road bridge near the end of the railway bridge. List of appearances *''Half-Life 2'' *''Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar'' References Category:The Coast locations Category:Resistance locations Category:Locations